Transport System for a Center Pivot Agricultural Machine

ABSTRACT

An agricultural mower including a chassis, a pivotal tongue coupled to the chassis and a transport arrangement coupled to the chassis. The transport arrangement has a first suspension element pivotal about a first axis and a second suspension element pivotal about a second axis. The second suspension element additionally being pivotal about the first axis.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/265,917, entitled “Transport System for a Center Pivot Agricultural Machine” and filed Apr. 30, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The subject disclosure relates to transport arrangements for agricultural machines, and, more particularly, relates to an arrangement for the machine, such as an agricultural mower, to enable the machine to be transported in less than its operating width.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Agricultural mowers and mower/conditioners, hereinafter referred to simply as mowers, are well known and include self-propelled and pull-behind types. A problem with pull-behind mowers involves the transporting of the machines between fields, since the width of the machine may exceed practical or regulatory limits. Machine movement may be necessary over farm lanes, through gates or on highways where the machine width will not allow passage in the operating orientation.

A typically solution is to place the mower-conditioner header mechanism on a separate trailer such that the lateral width of the mechanism is generally aligned with the length of the trailer (lateral transport) and then tow the trailer with the tractor. One such example is the Discbine™ Transporter (by common assignee) which is specifically configured for loading, unloading, and laterally transporting a Model 1441/1442 disc mower conditioner while attached to the operating power unit (tractor). Such special trailers add significant cost, requires significant skill to load and unload, and must be used to transport the machine between locations or separately transported.

It would be advantageous to provide a reconfigurable transport arrangement for supporting a pull-behind mower header to be laterally transported while attached to a tractor without requiring an additional implement or special trailer. Further advantages would be realized by a lateral transport system that is quickly and easily operated thereby reducing the time necessary to reconfigure the implement between operating and lateral transport configurations. Still further advantages would be realized by a lateral transport system that can be produced with less cost that the separate trailer lateral transport option it replaces.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed examples. This summary is not an extensive overview and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements nor delineate the scope of such aspects. Its purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

The subject disclosure provides a reconfigurable transport arrangement for supporting a mower allowing lateral transportation of the mower while attached to a tractor without requiring an additional implement or special trailer.

The disclosure in one form is directed to a transport arrangement for an agricultural machine having a chassis and a field suspension system. The transport arrangement includes a first suspension element being pivotal about a first axis, and a second suspension element being pivotal about a second axis. The second suspension element additionally being pivotal about the first axis.

The disclosure in another form is directed to an agricultural mower including a chassis, a pivotal tongue coupled to the chassis and a transport arrangement coupled to the chassis. The transport arrangement has a first suspension element pivotal about a first axis and a second suspension element pivotal about a second axis. The second suspension element additionally being pivotal about the first axis.

An advantage of the subject disclosure is that the lateral transport mode is accomplished without a separate implement or trailer.

Another advantage is that the transport mode is achieved using hydraulic controls available on the tractor.

Yet another advantage is that the transport system is stowed on the back portion of the mower.

Yet another advantage is that the legs of the transport system are of differing lengths to enhance stability of the mower in the transport mode.

A further advantage is that the transport suspension is above the discharge zone of the mower and does not interfere with the flow of the crop material.

A still further advantage is that the transport arrangement doesn't negatively effect the balance of the mower.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, one or more examples comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects and are indicative of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed. Other advantages and novel features will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings and the disclosed examples are intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this disclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the disclosure will be better understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an agricultural machine in the form of a mower including an embodiment of a transport arrangement of the present application in the stowed position;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the mower with the transport arrangement shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the mower shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the tongue shifted to a field use position;

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the mower of FIGS. 1-3, illustrating the transport arrangement of the present application being deployed;

FIG. 5 is yet another perspective view of the mower of FIGS. 1-4, illustrating the transport arrangement of the present application being further deployed lifting the chassis of the mower;

FIG. 6 is yet another perspective view of the mower of FIGS. 1-5, illustrating the tongue of the mower being pivoted to a transport position;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the mower of FIGS. 1-6, illustrating the transport arrangement of the present application being deployed for transporting the mower, from the perspective of the operator in a tractor; and

FIG. 8 is a side view of the mower of FIGS. 1-7, illustrating the transport arrangement of the present application being fully deployed having lifted the chassis of the mower.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplification set out herein illustrates an embodiment of the subject disclosure, and such exemplification is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the subject disclosure in any manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of an agricultural machine in the form of a mower 10, which can be attached to a tractor (not shown). Mower 10 generally includes a pair of wheels 11A and 11B and a chassis 12, which carries a number of other components such as crop engaging blades 14, and drive components 16. A tongue 18 is pivotally connected to chassis 12, an end of which can be connected to the tractor. A field suspension system 20 supports mower 10 while mower 10 is in a field mode. Mower 10 additionally includes a transport arrangement 22, which, when deployed, provides the support for the transport of mower 10. Crop engaging blades 14 can be disc cutter blades 14 or a sickle bar, or another crop cutting device.

Now, additionally referring to FIGS. 2-8, transport arrangement 22 includes suspension elements 24 and 26, which respectively have wheels 28 and 30 connected to corresponding ends of suspension elements 24 and 26. Suspension elements 24 and 26 are rotatable about an axis 32, when suspension element 26 is in the position shown in FIGS. 4-8. Additionally, suspension element 26 is rotatable about an axis 34 as it transitions from a stowed position illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 to the position shown in FIG. 4. Axis 32 is generally perpendicular to axis 34.

When suspension element 26 is in the stowed position it is generally above, or at least vertically elevated above, suspension element 24. Additionally, suspension element 26 is somewhat shorter than suspension element 24, as can be particularly seen in FIG. 2, where it can also be seen that suspension element 26 is positioned such that wheel 30 is behind wheel 28 when transport arrangement 22 is in a stowed position.

A sequence of movements of the elements of mower 10 will now be discussed with references to the various figures. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate transport arrangement 22 in a stowed position and tongue 18 is angularly positioned in a substantially forward direction 36. This is a configuration in which mower 10 can be used, but generally mower 10 will be used with tongue 18 located to either side, such as that shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 illustrates a predetermined position for tongue 18 to be located to allow the needed clearance for suspension element 26 to be rotated about axis 34 by a primary lateral transport cylinder 25, as shown fully deployed, in FIG. 4. Initially the field wheels 11A and 11B associated with field suspension system 20 are fully extended by lift cylinders 13A and 13B, respectively, to lift chassis 12.

Once transport arrangement 22 is positioned as shown in FIG. 4, then both suspension elements 24 and 26 are rotated about axis 32 by a secondary lateral transport cylinder 27 causing wheels 28 and 30 to contact the ground thereby lifting chassis 12 so that field suspension system 20 is lifted off of the ground. Field suspension system 20 can be coordinated to also lift its wheels 11A and 11B while or after wheels 28 and 30 contact the ground. A result of this step is that transport arrangement 22 is fully deployed as seen in FIG. 5 and is in the transport position.

The next step is that tongue 18 is now swung by a cylinder 29 to a transport position as shown in FIG. 6. This step has to wait on the full deployment of transport arrangement 22 to prevent mower 10 from tipping to one side. The wheels 11A and 11B of field suspension system 20 are raised to provide ground clearance by the retraction of the lift cylinders 13A and 13B associated with field suspension system 20 (as can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8). FIGS. 7 and 8 show mower 10 in the transport mode respectively from the operator viewpoint and the right hand side of mower 10.

The steps needed to configure mower 10 for field use are the reverse of those just discussed in order to transition from the transport position to the stowed position of transport arrangement 22. The position of tongue 18 in the transport mode is at a small angle to the tracking of mower 10, as seen in FIG. 7, so as to position the hitch in the desired location for connection with the tractor.

Transport arrangement 22 is coupled to chassis 12 and more particularly to trail frame 38, which is part of chassis 12. The coupling of transport arrangement 22 is offset to the side of the centerline of mower 10. The folding mechanism of transport arrangement 22 is provided to allow at least portions of transport arrangement 22 to be stowed above and to the rear of the trail frame 38 during field operations. Upon placing the center pivot disc mower conditioner 10 (CPDMC) in the full field left position, the mechanism of transport arrangement 22 rotates about a pivot axis 34 that is parallel to or substantially parallel to the trail frame 38 (or the axis of the field wheels). This action can deploy the left hand (as in transport position) wheel 30 to a position ahead of the header (ahead as in the field position) while still located above the trail frame 38. When this rotation has been completed, a secondary rotation takes place about axis 32; this action is a pivoting action which is above and perpendicular to the trail frame 38 and the field wheel axis. This action rotates wheels 28 and 30 from their position above trail frame 38 to a position below trail frame 38 and in contact with the ground.

When this action is complete, the trail frame/header is then rotated to a position essentially in-line with tongue 18, thus allowing a narrow transport for public roads. The steps to transition from field operation to lateral transport operation are thus: 1. Fully lift chassis 12 to the non-mowing position by extending the field wheels 11A, 11B of field suspension system 20 by the lift cylinders 13A, 13B; 2. Rotate chassis 12 to the full field left position; 3. Extend the primary lateral transport cylinder 25 to rotate suspension element 26 along with wheel 30 from a position above and behind the trail frame 38 to a position above and ahead of the trail frame 38; 4. Extend the secondary lateral transport cylinder 27 to rotate suspension elements 24 and 26 with wheels 28 and 30 down below the trail frame 38, with wheel 28 being behind the header/trail frame 38 and wheel 30 being in front of the header/trail frame 38; 5. Initiate the system to complete the rotation of chassis 12 to the full lateral transport position and retract the lift cylinders 13A, 13B to raise the field wheels 11A, 11B. The steps to transition from lateral transport to field operation are then to reverse the actions starting with step 5 and working backward to step 1.

The subject disclosure includes the action of rotating the left hand transport wheel 30 from a position above and behind the trail frame 38 to a position ahead of the trail frame 38 and the header about an axis generally parallel to the trail frame 38 and the field wheel axis. There is also the subsequent action (or precedent action depending on which way the transition is proceeding) of rotating the transport wheels 28 and 30 from a position above the header/trail frame 38 to a position below the header/trail frame 38, where the left hand transport wheel 30 is ahead of the header with the right hand transport wheel 28 to the rear of the header (in field position) and about an axis 32 perpendicular to the trail frame 38 field wheel axis. The system stows the transport wheels 28 and 30 above and behind the trail frame 38 while having the ability to rotate the transport wheel 30 to a position ahead of the header. Any system can be used to actuate the lateral transport rotations, with hydraulic cylinders being assumed, but the actions can be accomplished with any arrangement of cylinders, actuators, linear motors, rotational motors, to name a few.

Advantages of the subject disclosure include the providing of integrated lateral transport while allowing full rotation of the header for all field conditions with the transport wheels 28 and 30 stowed above and behind the trail frame 38. The stowed position keeps the transport wheels 28 and 30 completely out of the incoming crop stream, as well as completely out of the crop stream exiting from the conditioner. Further, this system allows for the CPDMC to be balanced during both field and lateral transport operation.

While this disclosure has been described with respect to at least one embodiment, the subject disclosure can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the subject disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this disclosure pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A transport arrangement for an agricultural machine having a chassis and a field suspension system, the transport arrangement comprising: a first suspension element for being coupled to the chassis; a first ground engaging wheel coupled to an end of the first suspension element, the first suspension element being pivotal about a first axis to move the first ground engaging wheel into and away from contact with the ground; a second suspension element coupled to and pivotal relative to the first suspension element about a second axis; and a second ground engaging wheel coupled to an end of the second suspension element, the second suspension element being additionally pivotal about the first axis to move the second ground engaging wheel into and away from contact with the ground.
 2. The transport arrangement of claim 1, wherein contact with the ground by the first and second ground engaging wheels corresponds to a transport mode of operation, and wherein non-contact with the ground by the first and second ground engaging wheels corresponds to a field work mode of operation.
 3. The transport arrangement of claim 2, wherein in the field work mode of operation, the first suspension element is proximate to the second suspension element, and wherein the second axis is for pivoting the second suspension element to be proximate to the first suspension element.
 4. The transport arrangement of claim 3, wherein the second suspension element is generally above the first suspension element in the field work mode of operation.
 5. The transport arrangement of claim 1, wherein the first axis and the second axis are generally perpendicular to each other.
 6. The transport arrangement of claim 1, wherein the first suspension element is longer than the second suspension element.
 7. The transport arrangement of claim 1, wherein the first suspension element is for being pivotably coupled to the chassis for pivoting about the first axis.
 8. The transport arrangement of claim 7, wherein the second suspension element is pivotal with the first suspension element about the first axis.
 9. An agricultural mower, comprising: a chassis; a pivotal tongue coupled to the chassis; and a transport arrangement coupled to the chassis, the transport arrangement comprising: a first suspension element coupled to the chassis; a first ground engaging wheel coupled to an end of the first suspension element, the first suspension element being pivotal about a first axis to move the first ground engaging wheel into and away from contact with the ground; a second suspension element coupled to and pivotal relative to the first suspension element about a second axis; and a second ground engaging wheel coupled to an end of the second suspension element, the second suspension element being additionally pivotal about the first axis to move the second ground engaging wheel into and away from contact with the ground.
 10. The agricultural mower of claim 9, wherein contact with the ground by the first and second ground engaging wheels corresponds to a transport mode of operation of the agricultural mower, and wherein non-contact with the ground by the first and second ground engaging wheels corresponds to a field work mode of operation of the agricultural mower.
 11. The agricultural mower of claim 10, wherein the chassis is substantially carried by the transport arrangement when in the transport position.
 12. The agricultural mower of claim 10, wherein the pivoting tongue is for pivoting to a predetermined position when the transport arrangement transitions from the field work mode of operation to the transport mode of operation and from the transport mode of operation to the field work mode of operation.
 13. The agricultural mower of claim 9, wherein the first suspension element is longer than the second suspension element.
 14. The agricultural mower of claim 9, wherein in the field work mode of operation, the first suspension element is proximate to the second suspension element, and both the first suspension element and the second suspension element are proximate to one side of the agricultural mower.
 15. The agricultural mower of claim 14, wherein the one side of the agricultural mower is a rear side of the agricultural mower.
 16. The agricultural mower of claim 14, wherein the second suspension element is generally above the first suspension element in the field work mode of operation.
 17. The agricultural mower of claim 9, wherein the first axis and the second axis are generally perpendicular to each other.
 18. An agricultural mower, comprising: a frame; a chassis coupled to the frame, the chassis comprising at least one crop engaging blade mounted thereto; a field suspension system coupled to the frame; a pivotal tongue coupled to the frame; and a transport arrangement coupled to the frame, the transport arrangement including: a first suspension element coupled to the frame; a first ground engaging wheel coupled to an end of the first suspension element, the first suspension element being pivotal about a first axis to move the first ground engaging wheel into and away from contact with the ground; a second suspension element coupled to and pivotal relative to the first suspension element about a second axis; and a second ground engaging wheel coupled to an end of the second suspension element, the second suspension element being additionally pivotal about the first axis to move the second ground engaging wheel into and away from contact with the ground.
 19. The agricultural mower of claim 18, wherein in a field work mode of operation, the first suspension element is proximate to the second suspension element, and both the first suspension element and the second suspension element are proximate to one side of the agricultural mower.
 20. The agricultural mower of claim 19, wherein the second suspension element is generally above the first suspension element in the field work mode of operation.
 21. The agricultural mower of claim 18, wherein the one side of the agricultural mower is a rear side of the agricultural mower.
 22. The agricultural mower of claim 18, wherein the field suspension system comprises: a first field wheel coupled to the frame and to the chassis for supporting the chassis during a field work mode of operation; and a first lift cylinder configured to raise the first field wheel while the first and second ground engaging wheels are in contact with the ground for placing the agricultural mower in a transportation mode of operation;
 23. The agricultural mower of claim 22, wherein the field suspension system further comprises: a second field wheel coupled to the frame and to the chassis for supporting the chassis during the field work mode of operation; and a second lift cylinder configured to raise the second field wheel while the first and second ground engaging wheels are in contact with the ground for placing the agricultural mower in the transportation mode of operation. 